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The glaciated island of South Georgia in the sub-Antarctic is a key area for climate reconstructions, because it is positioned in the Southern Ocean amidst the core belt of the Southern Westerlies and the main fronts of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. This makes it particularly susceptible to changes in local, regional, but also Southern Hemisphere-wide climate conditions. Marine-geological records recovered from its continental shelf therefore offer unique potential to constrain how ice masses in this part of the Southern Ocean responded to Quaternary climate change, but despite this, little glacial-geomorphological and sedimentological research has been done offshore South Georgia. Here, we present a new suite of glacial landforms, identified from high-resolution bathymetry data, supplemented with acoustic facies from sub-bottom profiles, in order to reconstruct the pre-Holocene glacial history of the King Haakon Trough System on the southwestern South Georgia continental shelf. Our data show numerous landforms common for phases of ice advance and retreat, which are interpreted to document the confluence of two major trunk glaciers during peak glaciation. Progressively elongated linear bedforms imply accelerated ice flow and/or softer sediment substrate towards the shelf edge and suggest that the South Georgia Ice Cap experienced streaming ice and behaved similarly to other palaeo-ice sheets. A grounding-zone wedge close to the shelf edge marks the position of maximum ice extent during a peak glaciation, while clusters of recessional moraines and three large morainal banks indicate repeated phases of staggered retreat. Multiple extensive ice advances are indicated by stacked till sequences within the sub-bottom profiles of the mid- and outer shelf. The second-to-last till generation appears to be slightly more extensive than the most recent glacial till, and could suggest that South Georgia may have had a similar glacial evolution to other sub-Antarctic islands. This paper complements two studies focusing on the Holocene depositional environments and their associated sedimentary processes in the same trough system, in an effort to elucidate an important part of the Quaternary evolution of South Georgia's marine environment. • King Haakon Trough System formed over the course of several glaciations. • Glacial landforms on the modern seafloor show evidence of fast advance and staggered retreat. • Ice stream draining South Georgia Ice Cap during LLGM configured as ice-cliff margin. • Stacked till sequences attest to multiple ice advances to the shelf edge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The southern North Sea is a particularly important area for understanding the behaviour of the British-Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) during the last glacial cycle. It preserves a record of the maximum extent of the eastern sector of the BIIS as well as evidence for multiple different ice flow phases and the dynamic re-organisation of the BIIS. However, to date, the known ice sheet history and geochronology of this region is predominantly derived from onshore geological evidence, and the offshore imprint and dynamic history of the last ice sheet remain largely unknown. Using new data collected by the BRITICE-CHRONO project this paper explores the origin and age of the Dogger Bank; re-assesses the extent and age of the glaciogenic deposits across the shallow areas of the North Sea between the Dogger Bank and the north Norfolk coast and; re-examines the dynamic behaviour of the BIIS in the southern North Sea between 31.6 and 21.5 ka. This paper shows the core of the Dogger Bank to be composed glaciolacustrine sediment deposited between 31.6 and 25.8 ka. Following its formation the western end of the Dogger lake was overridden with ice reaching ∼54°N where the ice margin is co-incident with the southerly extent of subglacial tills previously mapped as Bolders Bank Fm. This initial ice override and retreat northwards back across the Dogger lake was complete by 23.1 ka, but resulted in widespread compressive glaciotectonism of the lake sediments and the formation of thrust moraine complexes. Along the northern edge of the bank moraines are on-lapped by later phase glaciolacustrine and marine sediments but do not show evidence of subsequent ice override. The shallow seafloor to the west and southwest of the Dogger Bank records several later phases of ice advance and retreat as the North Sea Lobe flowed between the Dogger Bank and the Yorkshire/Lincolnshire coasts and reached North Norfolk. New optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages from Garrett Hill on outwash limit the arrival of the BIIS on the Norfolk coast to 22.8–21.5 ka. Multiple till sheets and chains of moraines on the seafloor north of Norfolk mark dynamic oscillation of the North Sea Lobe margin as it retreated northwards. This pattern of behaviour is broadly synchronous with the terrestrial record of deposition of subglacial, glaciofluvial and glaciolacustrine sediments along the Yorkshire coast which relate to post Dimlington Stadial ice marginal oscillations after 21.5 ka. With respect to forcing mechanisms it is likely that during the early phases of the last glacial maximum (∼30-23ka) the interaction between the southern margin of the BIIS and the Dogger Lake was critical in influencing flow instability and rapid ice advance and retreat. However, during the latter part of the last glacial maximum (22–21 ka) late-phase ice advance in the southern North Sea became restricted to the western side of the Dogger Bank which was a substantial topographic feature by this time. This topographic confinement, in addition to decoupling of the BIIS and the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet (FIS) further north, enabled ice to reach the north Norfolk coast, overprinting the seabed with late-phase tills of the Bolders Bank Fm. Highlights • New acoustic and chronological data from the southern North Sea casts fresh light on British-Irish Ice Sheet history. • The Dogger Bank is composed of glaciolacustrine sediment heavily glaciotectonised between 31.6 and 23.1 ka. • A key trigger for the re-advance of the British-Irish Ice Sheet at 21.5 ka was the catastrophic drainage of Dogger Lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During its maximum extent around 25–23 ka BP, the British-Irish Ice Sheet extended to near the present-day shelf break with a large ice stream, the Irish Sea Ice Stream, occupied much of the present-day Celtic and Irish Seas. The different episodes of advance and retreat of the ice sheet have been extensively constrained onshore, with models based on feature characterisation and dating helping to understand the retreat pattern of the ice sheet. Offshore, glacial geomorphologies in the Irish Sea have been mostly recognised on the United Kingdom side but remains poorly constrained on the Irish side. In this paper, based on the analysis of an extensive seismic dataset, an update of the stratigraphic model of the northern Irish Sea, with new sub-units, is proposed with a mapping of newly discovered buried geomorphology. Characterisation of the geomorphology, including megascale glacial lineations, subglacial meltwater channels, moraines, and iceberg scours, has been used to extend the constraints on ice sheet retreat offshore. The transition from late glacial to marine setting has been constrained based on the mapping of marine sediment subunits and their terminations. This paper brings new constraints offshore, in a previously understudied area, and synthesises all the results into an updated conceptual model highlighting stratigraphic units succession and associated processes linked to geomorphology, within the context of a rapidly retreating ice stream. • Extensive seismic mapping in the Irish Sea from public and academic datasets. • Evidence of 8 seismic units refined from existing stratigraphic model. • Characterisation of buried glacial and late glacial features on seismic surface. • Refined geological history of the ice sheet oscillation and marine transgression. • Implications of formation lateral variability for offshore engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the maritime and sub–Antarctic contribution to the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) Past Antarctic Ice Sheet Dynamics (PAIS) community Antarctic Ice Sheet reconstruction. The overarching aim for all sectors of Antarctica was to reconstruct the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ice sheet extent and thickness, and map the subsequent deglaciation in a series of 5000 year time slices. However, our review of the literature found surprisingly few high quality chronological constraints on changing glacier extents on these timescales in the maritime and sub–Antarctic sector. Therefore, in this paper we focus on an assessment of the terrestrial and offshore evidence for the LGM ice extent, establishing minimum ages for the onset of deglaciation, and separating evidence of deglaciation from LGM limits from those associated with later Holocene glacier fluctuations. Evidence included geomorphological descriptions of glacial landscapes, radiocarbon dated basal peat and lake sediment deposits, cosmogenic isotope ages of glacial features and molecular biological data. We propose a classification of the glacial history of the maritime and sub–Antarctic islands based on this assembled evidence. These include: (Type I) islands which accumulated little or no LGM ice; (Type II) islands with a limited LGM ice extent but evidence of extensive earlier continental shelf glaciations; (Type III) seamounts and volcanoes unlikely to have accumulated significant LGM ice cover; (Type IV) islands on shallow shelves with both terrestrial and submarine evidence of LGM (and/or earlier) ice expansion; (Type V) Islands north of the Antarctic Polar Front with terrestrial evidence of LGM ice expansion; and (Type VI) islands with no data. Finally, we review the climatological and geomorphological settings that separate the glaciological history of the islands within this classification scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The paper reviews previously published and presents new data on the Darhad Basin, Mongolia, which is a key locality for reconstruction of Quaternary glaciation and environmental changes in northern Central Asia. The previously published data include those obtained in the 20th century by Soviet geological surveys and academic researches of the Darhad Basin, which are, as a rule, not accessible for an international reader, and those obtained by several international teams during the last decade. The new results include geomorphologic, sedimentological and geochronological data obtained prior to and within the International Darhad Drilling Project (DDP-2010). These data show that the Darhad sedimentary sequence has been formed since the Pliocene and represents a detailed archive of environmental changes due to a high content of lacustrine beds. Lakes formed several times in the Darhad Basin by basaltic, glacial and sedimentary dams, which blocked the water outlet of the basin. Of special interest in this paper are the late Pleistocene damming events, which are well-documented in the sediments and landforms, however, their chronology is still obscure. There have been two stages of deep lake. The first lake was dammed by a glacier during late MIS 5 (Krivonogov et al., 2005) or, alternatively, during early to middle MIS 3 (Gillespie et al., 2008a). The second damming, glacial or sedimentary, formed another deep lake during MIS 4 or MIS 2. The level of the lake was greatly variable up to its complete disappearance. Our new data from the DDP10-3 and DN-1 boreholes and from the Hodon outcrop illustrate the Holocene history of the paleolake, which was dammed by the sediments and was kept at low levels. We propose a first sedimentation model for the Holocene part of the lacustrine sedimentary sequence. The lake was minimal or disappeared at ca 12–9.6 and after 4.5 ka cal. BP, relatively deep at 9.6–7.1 and 6.4–4.5 ka cal. BP and shallow at 7.1–6.4 ka cal. BP. Conclusively, we highlighted solved and unsolved geological problems of the Darhad Basin, the most important of which are our recognized stages of the paleolake development (solved) and the detailed chronology and environments of the lacustrine and glacial events (unsolved). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The progradation of the Medjerda delta has been the subject of many studies since the 19th century. The scale and the rapidity of this phenomenon interested researchers in various fields early on, such as geomorphology, geology, palaeogeography, history, archaeology, or geoarchaeology. Indeed, the delta prograded by around 10 km over 3 millennia. At the time of its foundation supposedly at the end of the 12th century BC, the Phoenician city of Utica was located on a promontory bathed by the sea, but the sediments carried by the Medjerda progressively sealed the bay, leaving the tip of the Utica promontory now 10 km inland. This area is therefore an exception to the general pattern along the Tunisian coast, since as over the same period everywhere else there is a regression of the coastline, owing to a sea level rise of several decimeters. Based on multi-proxy analyses of two coring transects, this paper aims to reconstruct the palaeoenvironments and the palaeogeography of the Medjerda delta's progradation since the mid-Holocene, some aspects of which are described in ancient sources. The results highlight in particular an episode of high-intensity flooding around the 4th century AD, which is consistent with episodes of high floods and an increase in sedimentation rates recorded in the watershed at the end of the Roman period. The gradual abandonment of the city of Utica can certainly be related to the activity of the Medjerda River, but our results show that it is because of an increase of fluvial sediment contribution in connection with an erosive crisis in the headwaters, and not because of the change of course of the river, which had occurred long before. • The Medjerda delta's progradation reached 10 km over 3 millennia. • The reconstruction of the palaeogeography helps to better understand the foundation of Utica and its gradual abandonment. • A wide bay around Utica since the 6th mill. BC, progressively sealed by the alluvium of the Medjerda from the 1st c. BC. • The results highlight in particular an episode of high-intensity flooding around the 4th century AD. • The isolation of Utica from the sea is due to an erosive crisis generated by climatic and probably anthropogenic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The glacial geomorphological record provides an effective means to reconstruct former ice sheets at ice sheet scale. In this paper we document our approach and methods for synthesising and interpreting a glacial landform record for its palaeo-ice flow information, applied to landforms of Ireland. New, countrywide glacial geomorphological maps of Ireland comprising >39,000 glacial landforms are interpreted for the spatial, glaciodynamic and relative chronological information they reveal. Seventy one ‘flowsets’ comprising glacial lineations, and 19 ribbed moraine flowsets are identified based on the spatial properties of these landforms, yielding information on palaeo-ice flow geometry. Flowset cross-cutting is prevalent and reveals a highly complex flow geometry; major ice divide migrations are interpreted with commensurate changes in the flow configuration of the ice sheet. Landform superimposition is the key to deciphering the chronology of such changes, and documenting superimposition relationships yields a relative ‘age-stack’ of all Irish flowsets. We use and develop existing templates for interpreting the glaciodynamic context of each flowset – its palaeo-glaciology. Landform patterns consistent with interior ice sheet flow, ice stream flow, and with time-transgressive bedform generation behind a retreating margin, under a thinning ice sheet, and under migrating palaeo-flowlines are each identified. Fast ice flow is found to have evacuated ice from central and northern Ireland into Donegal Bay, and across County Clare towards the south-west. Ice-marginal landform assemblages form a coherent system across southern Ireland marking stages of ice sheet retreat. Time-transgressive, ‘smudged’ landform imprints are particularly abundant; in several ice sheet sectors ice flow geometry was rapidly varying at timescales close to the timescale of bedform generation. The methods and approach we document herein could be useful for interpreting other ice sheet histories. The flowsets and their palaeo-glaciological significance that we derive for Ireland provide a regional framework and context for interpreting results from local scale fieldwork, provide major flow events for testing numerical ice sheet models, and underpin a data-driven reconstruction of the Irish Ice Sheet that we present in an accompanying paper – Part 2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper reconstructs the deglaciation of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS; including the Innuitian Ice Sheet) from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), with a particular focus on the spatial and temporal variations in ice streaming and the associated changes in flow patterns and ice divides. We build on a recent inventory of Laurentide ice streams and use an existing ice margin chronology to produce the first detailed transient reconstruction of the ice stream drainage network in the LIS, which we depict in a series of palaeogeographic maps. Results show that the drainage network at the LGM was similar to modern-day Antarctica. The majority of the ice streams were marine terminating and topographically-controlled and many of these continued to function late into the deglaciation, until the ice sheet lost its marine margin. Ice streams with a terrestrial ice margin in the west and south were more transient and ice flow directions changed with the build-up, peak-phase and collapse of the Cordilleran-Laurentide ice saddle. The south-eastern marine margin in Atlantic Canada started to retreat relatively early and some of the ice streams in this region switched off at or shortly after the LGM. In contrast, the ice streams draining towards the north-western and north-eastern marine margins in the Beaufort Sea and in Baffin Bay appear to have remained stable throughout most of the Late Glacial, and some of them continued to function until after the Younger Dryas (YD). The YD influenced the dynamics of the deglaciation, but there remains uncertainty about the response of the ice sheet in several sectors. We tentatively ascribe the switching-on of some major ice streams during this period (e.g. M'Clintock Channel Ice Stream at the north-west margin), but for other large ice streams whose timing partially overlaps with the YD, the drivers are less clear and ice-dynamical processes, rather than effects of climate and surface mass balance are viewed as more likely drivers. Retreat rates markedly increased after the YD and the ice sheet became limited to the Canadian Shield. This hard-bed substrate brought a change in the character of ice streaming, which became less frequent but generated much broader terrestrial ice streams. The final collapse of the ice sheet saw a series of small ephemeral ice streams that resulted from the rapidly changing ice sheet geometry in and around Hudson Bay. Our reconstruction indicates that the LIS underwent a transition from a topographically-controlled ice drainage network at the LGM to an ice drainage network characterised by less frequent, broad ice streams during the later stages of deglaciation. These deglacial ice streams are mostly interpreted as a reaction to localised ice-dynamical forcing (flotation and calving of the ice front in glacial lakes and transgressing sea; basal de-coupling due to large amount of meltwater reaching the bed, debuttressing due to rapid changes in ice sheet geometry) rather than as conveyors of excess mass from the accumulation area of the ice sheet. At an ice sheet scale, the ice stream drainage network became less widespread and less efficient with the decreasing size of the deglaciating ice sheet, the final elimination of which was mostly driven by surface melt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea-level indicators dated to the Last Interglacial, or Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e, have a twofold value. First, they can be used to constrain the melting of Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets in response to global warming scenarios. Second, they can be used to calculate the vertical crustal rates at active margins. For both applications, the contribution of glacio- and hydro-isostatic adjustment (GIA) to vertical displacement of sea-level indicators must be calculated. In this paper, we re-assess MIS 5e sea-level indicators at 11 Mediterranean sites that have been generally considered tectonically stable or affected by mild tectonics. These are found within a range of elevations of 2–10 m above modern mean sea level. Four sites are characterized by two separate sea-level stands, which suggest a two-step sea-level highstand during MIS 5e. Comparing field data with numerical modeling we show that (i) GIA is an important contributor to the spatial and temporal variability of the sea-level highstand during MIS 5e, (ii) the isostatic imbalance from the melting of the MIS 6 ice sheet can produce a >2.0 m sea-level highstand, and (iii) a two-step melting phase for the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets reduces the differences between observations and predictions. Our results show that assumptions of tectonic stability on the basis of the MIS 5e records carry intrinsically large uncertainties, stemming either from uncertainties in field data and GIA models. The latter are propagated to either Holocene or Pleistocene sea-level reconstructions if tectonic rates are considered linear through time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ebro Basin constitutes one of the most representative territories in SW Europe for the study of prehistoric societies during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. The correlation of palaeoenvironmental and geomorphological proxies obtained from sedimentary records with chronologically well-constrained reference archaeological sites has allowed defining this time frame precisely, such that three main pilot areas haven been broadly depicted: the Alavese region, the Pre-Pyrenees and the Bajo Aragón. Overall, the human imprint in the Ebro Basin was rare during the Upper Palaeolithic, but more visible from the Upper Magdalenian (14500–13500 cal BP) to Neolithic times (up to 5500 cal BP). Local environmental resources were continuously managed by the prehistoric communities in the different areas of study. In fact, the Ebro Basin acted during those millennia as a whole, developing the same cultural trends, industrial techniques and settlement patterns in parallel throughout the territory. However, some gaps exist in the 14 C frequency curve (SCDPD curve). This is partially related to prehistoric sites in particular lithologies and geological structures that could have partly been lost by erosional processes, especially during the Early Holocene. In addition, this gap also parallels the reconstructed climate trend for the Pre-Pyrenean and the Bajo Aragón areas, which are defined by high frequencies of xerophilous flora until ca. 9500 cal BP, suggesting that continental climate features could have hampered the presence of well-established human communities in inland regions. The interdisciplinary research (archaeology, geomorphology and palaeoclimatology) discussed in this paper offers clues to understand the existence of fills and gaps in the archaeological record of the Ebro Basin, and can be applied in other territories with similar geographic and climate patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Aurelian Mammal Age for peninsular Italy was introduced on the basis of faunal assemblages mainly recovered at sites along the Via Aurelia west of Rome. These sites exposed a set of sedimentary deposits currently attributed to the Aurelia and to the Vitinia Formations correlated with MIS 9 and MIS 7, respectively. In the present paper we reconstruct the geologic-stratigraphic setting in the western sector of Rome within the wider context of glacio-eustatically controlled, geochronologically constrained aggradational successions defined for this region. We present a chronostratigraphic study based on dedicated field surveys, that, combined with five new 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages and eighteen trace-element and EMP glass analyses of volcanic products, allow us to revise age and correlation with the Marine Isotopic Stages for 10 sites out of 12 previously attributed to the Aurelia Formation and the Torre in Pietra Faunal Unit. In particular, we demonstrate a MIS 13/MIS 11 age for several sections along the Via Aurelia between Malagrotta and Castel di Guido. Based on this new geochronological framework, the first occurrences of Canis lupus and Vulpes vulpes in Italy are antedated to MIS 11, within the Fontana Ranuccio Faunal Unit of the Galerian Mammal Age, consistent with the wider European context. This contribution is intended as the groundwork for a revision of the Middle Pleistocene Mammal Ages of the Italian peninsula, according to the improved chronostratigraphy of the geologic sections hosting the faunal assemblages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outburst floods originating in moraine-dammed lakes represent a significant geomorphological process as well as a specific type of threat for local communities in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru (8.5°–10° S; 77°–78° W). An exceptional concentration of catastrophic floods has been reported from the Cordillera Blanca in the first half of 20th Century (1930s–1950s), leading to thousands of fatalities. The main objective of this paper is to provide a revised and comprehensive overview of geomorphologically effective floods in the area of interest, using various documentary data sources, verified by analysis of remotely sensed images (1948–2013) and enhanced by original field data. Verified events (n = 28; 4 not mentioned before) are analysed from the perspective of spatiotemporal distribution, pre-flood conditions, causes, mechanisms and geomorphological impacts as well as socioeconomical consequences, revealing certain patterns and similar features. GLOFs are further classified according to their magnitude: 5 extreme events, 8 major events and 15 minor events are distinguished, referring to the quantified geomorphological and socioeconomical impacts. Selected moraine dams and flood deposits are dated using lichenometric dating. Special attention is given to moraine dam breaches - the most frequent type of water release with the most significant consequences. Selected major events and their consequences are studied in detail in a separate section. Finally, a general schematic model of lake formation, growth and post-flood evolution reflecting initial topographical setting and glacier retreat is introduced and the utilization of the obtained results is outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a summary of the results of a detailed multidisciplinary study of the near surface geology of the Dogger Bank in the southern central North Sea, forming part of a site investigation for a major windfarm development undertaken by the Forewind consortium. It has revealed that the Dogger Bank is internally complex rather than comprising a simple “layer cake” of the Quaternary sediments as previously thought. Regional and high-resolution seismic surveys have enabled a revised stratigraphic framework to be established for the upper part of this sequence which comprises the Eem (oldest), Dogger Bank, Bolders Bank formations and Botney Cut Formation (youngest), overlain by a typically thin Holocene sequence. Detailed mapping of key horizons identified on the high-resolution seismic profiles has led to the recognition of a series of buried palaeo-landsystems which are characterised by a range of features including; glacial, glacifluvial and fluvial channels, a large-scale glacitectonic thrust-moraine complex with intervening ice-marginal basins, a lacustrine basin and marine ravinement surfaces. Interpretation of these buried landscapes has enabled the development of an environmental change model to explain the evolution of the Dogger Bank. This evolution was driven by the complex interplay between climate change, ice sheet dynamics and sea level change associated with the growth and subsequent demise of the British and Irish and Fennoscandian ice sheets during the Weichselian glaciation. Following the decay of these ice sheets the Dogger Bank entered a period of significant climatic and environmental flux which saw a terrestrial landscape being progressively inundated as sea levels rose during the Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along the terrestrial margin of the southern North Sea, previous studies of the MIS 2 glaciation impacting eastern Britain have played a significant role in the development of principles relating to ice sheet dynamics (e.g. deformable beds), and the practice of reconstructing the style, timing, and spatial configuration of palaeo-ice sheets. These detailed terrestrially-based findings have however relied on observations made from only the outer edges of the former ice mass, as the North Sea Lobe (NSL) of the British-Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) occupied an area that is now almost entirely submarine (c.21–15 ka). Compounded by the fact that marine-acquired data have been primarily of insufficient quality and density, the configuration and behaviour of the last BIIS in the southern North Sea remains surprisingly poorly constrained. This paper presents analysis of a new, integrated set of extensive seabed geomorphological and seismo-stratigraphic observations that both advances the principles developed previously onshore (e.g. multiple advance and retreat cycles), and provides a more detailed and accurate reconstruction of the BIIS at its southern-most extent in the North Sea. A new bathymetry compilation of the region reveals a series of broad sedimentary wedges and associated moraines that represent several terminal positions of the NSL. These former still-stand ice margins (1–4) are also found to relate to newly-identified architectural patterns (shallow stacked sedimentary wedges) in the region's seismic stratigraphy (previously mapped singularly as the Bolders Bank Formation). With ground-truthing constraint provided by sediment cores, these wedges are interpreted as sub-marginal till wedges, formed by complex subglacial accretionary processes that resulted in till thickening towards the former ice-sheet margins. The newly sub-divided shallow seismic stratigraphy (at least five units) also provides an indication of the relative event chronology of the NSL. While there is a general record of south-to-north retreat, seismic data also indicate episodes of ice-sheet re-advance suggestive of an oscillating margin (e.g. MIS 2 maximum not related to first incursion of ice into region). Demonstrating further landform interdependence, geographically-grouped sets of tunnel valleys are shown to be genetically related to these individual ice margins, providing clear insight into how meltwater drainage was organised at the evolving termini of this dynamic ice lobe. The newly reconstructed offshore ice margins are found to be well correlated with previously observed terrestrial limits in Lincolnshire and E. Yorkshire (Holderness) (e.g. MIS 2 maximum and Withernsea Till). This reconstruction will hopefully provide a useful framework for studies targeting the climatic, mass-balance, and external glaciological factors (i.e. Fennoscandian Ice Sheet) that influenced late-stage advance and deglaciation, important for accurately characterising both modern and palaeo-ice sheets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation focuses on the transformation of the settlement pattern of a lowland landscape as a social response to the hydrological challenges emerging in the late 13th century (c.) overture of the Little Ice Age (LIA). Results of the applied zonal analysis suggested a strong spatial connection between the geomorphological conditions, the agro-ecological suitability (good-excellent, medium and low) and the stability or instability of settlement patterns. The elevation means of archaeological sites in the deserted zones proved significantly lower than those in zones with permanent settlement pattern (Brunner-Munzel test p ≤ 0.01; n = 377). Additionally, the late medieval (14th-mid-16th centuries) site group was situated, on average, significantly higher than the high medieval (late 10th-13th centuries) site group within the permanent zones (Brunner-Munzel test p ≤ 0.01; n = 219). These outcomes statistically confirm that not only did low-lying inhabited areas shrink significantly, but they also displaced vertically in the first phase of the LIA. When analysing the relation of settlement pattern to soil conditions, the proportion of areas with good-excellent agro-ecological suitability proved 1.5–2 times higher in the permanent zones than in the deserted and uninhabited settlement suitability zones. Using the linear model, different regression coefficients appeared between the extension of the high and medium agro-ecological suitability zones and the number of high and late medieval settlements. The different coefficients in the studied two periods suggest that the issue of agroecological suitability in the High Middle Ages did not bear such importance as in the late Middle Ages. The findings of the paper may contribute to answering the question why the relatively dense settlement pattern of the deserted zones was abandoned almost completely by the end of the 13th c. in areas where flood proneness and weak agro-ecological suitability both meant a serious risk for human communities. Finally, we presumed that if hydro-climatic changes increased water levels, they must have changed the plant composition of the studied landscape as well. Chi-squared test of macrofossil plant remains (narchaeological site = 55; ntaxon = 330) shows that the second part of the 13th c. saw the ratio of species from humid habitat types grow (Χ² = 7.81; df = 1; p = 0.02). Comparison of the two studied processes indicates a broad synchronism between the shrinkage of inhabited areas and the increasing proportion of plants with humid environment tolerance during the second part of the 13th c. The reconstructed transformations in the composition of plant remains and settlement structure signal not a mere transitional change, but a 'longue durée' structural transformation of the landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the timing of past glacial advances in Patagonia is of global climatic importance because of the insight this can provide into the influence on glacier behaviour of changes in temperature and precipitation related to the Southern Westerlies. In this paper we present new luminescence ages determined using single grains of K-feldspar from proglacial outwash sediments that were deposited by the Patagonian Ice Sheet around Lago Buenos Aires (∼46 °S), east of the contemporary Northern Patagonian Icefield. The new luminescence ages indicate that major outwash accumulations formed around ∼110 ± 20 ka to 140 ± 20 ka and that these correspond to the Moreno I and II moraine ridges, which were previously dated using cosmogenic isotope dating to 150 ± 30 ka. Luminescence dating at Lago Buenos Aires has also identified outwash sediments that were deposited during glacial advances ∼30.8 ± 5.7 ka and ∼34.0 ± 6.1 ka (MIS 3) that are not recorded in the moraine record. Younger outwash accumulations were then deposited between ∼14.7 ± 2.1 and 26.2 ± 1.6 ka which correspond to the Fenix I – V moraine ridges. The combined chronology suggests that glacial advances occurred ∼110 ± 20 ka to 150 ± 30 ka (MIS 6), ∼30.8 ± 5.7 ka to ∼34.0 ± 6.1 ka (MIS 3), and ∼14.7 ± 2.1 to 26.2 ± 1.6 ka (MIS 2) at Lago Buenos Aires. Overall luminescence dating using single grains of K-feldspar has excellent potential to contribute towards the ever-increasing geochronological dataset constraining the timings of glacial advances in Patagonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying provenance of aeolian deposits in the mid-latitude deserts of Asia is essential for understanding formation and changes of Earth surface processes due to palaeoclimatic fluctuations. While some earlier studies focused on the interpretation of palaeoenvironments on the basis of aeolian deposits mainly in the desert margins and inter-dune lacustrine sediments, research on provenance of desert sands in the vast Asian mid-latitude deserts is still rare. In this paper, we present new geochemical data which provide insight to the provenance of dune sands in the Badain Jaran Desert, northwestern China, an important part of this desert belt. We sampled aeolian and lacustrine sediments in various parts of the Badain Jaran Desert, and examined their major, trace and rare earth elements (REE) in bulk samples, coarse and fine fractions, respectively. In addition, we took and analyzed samples from a rarely known dune field with red sands, northeast of the Badain Jaran. Our results show that the sands from the Badain Jaran Desert are generally different from those in the red sand dune field in terms of REE pattern and geochemical characteristics, suggesting different sediment origins. Geochemical composition of the aeolian sand samples indicates these sediments should be mainly derived from mixed source rocks of granite, granitoids and granodiorite. Comparing the immobile trace elements and REE ratios of the samples from the Badain Jaran Desert, red sand dune field with rocks of granite, granitoids in their potential source areas, we conclude that: (1) The aeolian deposits in the Badain Jaran Desert are predominantly derived from the Qilian Mountains, northeastern Tibetan Plateau initially via fluvial processes; (2) The Altay Mountains and Mongolian Gobi are the ultimate source areas for the red sand dune field; (3) The Altai Mountains and Mongolian Gobi in the northwest, that could produce massive amounts of materials via intensive deflation and alluvial process, are additional sand sources of the Badain Jaran Desert although their contribution is of secondary significance. As the Badain Jaran Desert acts as sediment sinks of sediments from the Qilian Mountains of northeastern Tibetan Plateau via fluvial processes, it is likely that zircon grains of loess on the Chinese Loess Plateau with age distributions similar to those of the northern Tibetan Plateau could be derived from the Badain Jaran Desert, as the wind data suggest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reconstruction of the environment and the human population history of the Nile Valley during the Late Pleistocene have received a lot of attention in the literature thus far. There seems to be a consensus that during MIS2 extreme dry conditions prevailed over north-eastern Africa, which was apparently not occupied by humans. The Nile Valley seems to be an exception; numerous field data have been collected suggesting an important population density in Upper Egypt during MIS2. The occupation remains are often stratified in, or at least related to, aeolian and Nile deposits at some elevation above the present-day floodplain. They are rich in lithics and animal bones, mainly fish, illustrating the exploitation of the Nile Valley by the Late Palaeolithic inhabitants. The fluvial processes active during that period have traditionally been interpreted as a continuously rising highly braided river. In this paper we summarize the evidence thus far available for the Late Pleistocene on the population densities in the Nile Valley, and on the models of Nilotic behaviour. In the discussion we include data on the environmental conditions in Eastern Africa, on the aeolian processes in the Western Desert of Egypt derived from satellite images, 14 C and OSL dates, in order to formulate a new model that explains the observed high remnants of aeolian and Nilotic deposits and the related Late Palaeolithic sites. This model hypothesizes that, during the Late Pleistocene, and especially the LGM, dunes from the Western Desert invaded the Nile Valley at several places in Upper Egypt. The much reduced activity of the White Nile and the Blue Nile was unable to evacuate incoming aeolian sand and, as a consequence, several dams were created in the Upper Egyptian Nile Valley. Behind such dams the created lakes offered ideal conditions for human subsistence. This model explains the occurrence of Late Palaeolithic hunter–fisher–gatherers in a very arid environment with very low Nile flows, even in late summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Coast Mountains flank the Pacific Ocean in western British Columbia, Canada. Subdivided into the southern Pacific Ranges, central Kitimat Ranges and northern Boundary Ranges, the majority of large glaciers and icefields are located in the Boundary and Pacific ranges. Prior descriptions of the Holocene glacial history of this region indicate the Holocene was characterized by repeated episodes of ice expansion and retreat. Recent site-specific investigations augment our understanding of the regional character and duration of these events. In this paper, previously reported and new radiocarbon evidence is integrated to provide an updated regional assessment. The earliest evidence of glacier expansion in the Coast Mountains comes from the Boundary Ranges at 8.9 and 7.8 ka and in the Pacific Ranges at 8.5–8.2 ka, with the latter advance corresponding to an interval of rapid, global climate deterioration. Although generally warm and dry climates from 7.3 to 5.3 ka likely limited the size of glaciers in the region, there is radiocarbon evidence for advances over the interval from 7.3 to 6.0 and at 5.4–5.3 ka in the Pacific Ranges. Following these advances, glaciers in the Pacific Ranges expanded down valley at 4.8–4.6, 4.4–4.0, 3.5–2.6, 1.4–1.2, and 0.8–0.4 ka, while glaciers in Boundary Ranges were advancing at 4.1–4.0, 3.7–3.4, 3.1–2.8, 2.3, 1.7–1.1, and 0.8–0.4 ka. After 0.4 ka, it appears that most glaciers in the Coast Mountains continued to expand to attain their maximum Holocene extents by the early 18th to late 19th centuries. This enhanced record of Holocene glacier activity highlights the temporal synchrony in the Coast Mountains. Individual expansion events in the mid-to late Holocene broadly correspond to intervals of regional glacier activity reported in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, in Alaska, and on high-elevation volcanic peaks in Washington State. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Weddell Sea sector is one of the main formation sites for Antarctic Bottom Water and an outlet for about one fifth of Antarctica's continental ice volume. Over the last few decades, studies on glacial–geological records in this sector have provided conflicting reconstructions of changes in ice-sheet extent and ice-sheet thickness since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM at ca 23–19 calibrated kiloyears before present, cal ka BP). Terrestrial geomorphological records and exposure ages obtained from rocks in the hinterland of the Weddell Sea, ice-sheet thickness constraints from ice cores and some radiocarbon dates on offshore sediments were interpreted to indicate no significant ice thickening and locally restricted grounding-line advance at the LGM. Other marine geological and geophysical studies concluded that subglacial bedforms mapped on the Weddell Sea continental shelf, subglacial deposits and sediments over-compacted by overriding ice recovered in cores, and the few available radiocarbon ages from marine sediments are consistent with major ice-sheet advance at the LGM. Reflecting the geological interpretations, different ice-sheet models have reconstructed conflicting LGM ice-sheet configurations for the Weddell Sea sector. Consequently, the estimated contributions of ice-sheet build-up in the Weddell Sea sector to the LGM sea-level low-stand of ∼130 m vary considerably. In this paper, we summarise and review the geological records of past ice-sheet margins and past ice-sheet elevations in the Weddell Sea sector. We compile marine and terrestrial chronological data constraining former ice-sheet size, thereby highlighting different levels of certainty, and present two alternative scenarios of the LGM ice-sheet configuration, including time-slice reconstructions for post-LGM grounding-line retreat. Moreover, we discuss consistencies and possible reasons for inconsistencies between the various reconstructions and propose objectives for future research. The aim of our study is to provide two alternative interpretations of glacial–geological datasets on Antarctic Ice-Sheet History for the Weddell Sea sector, which can be utilised to test and improve numerical ice-sheet models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents new Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) data collected from isolation basins close to the town of Paamiut in south west Greenland. The data shows a rapid fall from a marine limit of c. 52 m asl at c. 10.9 cal. ka BP to close to present by c. 9.5 cal. ka BP, at rates of up to c. 32 mm/yr, falling below present for the majority of the Holocene before rising to present in the last 2000 years. The elevation of the RSL lowstand is not well constrained, but was at least below −3 m. This pattern of rapid RSL fall during the early Holocene matches the pattern seen at other southern Greenland locations suggesting rapid, largely simultaneous ice retreat from the area surrounding the Qassimiut Lobe at the start of the Holocene, occurring c. 2000 years after the initial deglaciation of the extreme southern tip of Greenland. The RSL histories from this and other southern Greenland locations are distinct to those recorded further north along the west coast, and are in broad agreement with a pattern of vertical land motion and RSL predicted by the Huy2 model (Simpson et al., 2009), which predicts an 80 m drop in the contribution of vertical land motion to RSL at 10 cal. ka BP between Sisimiut and Paamiut on the west coast. Despite this broad-scale spatial agreement between the RSL data and the Huy2 model, it fails to satisfactorily predict the Holocene RSL histories at Paamiut and other southern Greenland locations. Sensitivity tests indicate that the data-model misfits are most likely due to an over-estimate of the forcing during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (or the response to this forcing) in southern Greenland and error in the North American ice sheets component of the background deglaciation model. Our new data suggests that much of the southern part of the ice sheet acted differently to the area further north. However RSL changes at Paamiut are also largely impacted by regional and larger-scale processes including a bulls-eye of uplift centred on the west, the impact of the Holocene Thermal Maximum and the influence of the collapse of the North American ice sheets. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Uummannaq Ice Stream System (UISS) was a convergent cross-shelf ice stream system that operated in West Greenland during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This paper presents new evidence constraining the geometry and evolution of the northern sector of the UISS and considers the factors controlling its dynamic behaviour. Geomorphological mapping, 21 new terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) exposure ages, and radiocarbon dating constrain LGM warm-based ice stream activity in the north of the system up to 1400 m a.s.l. Intervening plateaux areas either remained ice free, or were covered by cold-based icefields. Beyond the inner fjords, topography and bathymetry forced ice flow southwards into the Uummannaq Trough, where it coalesced with ice from the south, and formed the trunk zone of the UISS. Deglaciation of the UISS began at 14.9 cal. ka BP. Rapid retreat from the LGM limit was forced by an increase in air temperatures and rising sea level, enhanced by the bathymetric over-deepening of the Uummannaq and Igdlorssuit Sund troughs. Ice reached the inner fjord confines in the northern Uummannaq area by 11.6 ka and experienced an ice marginal stabilisation in Rink–Karrat Fjord for up to 5 ka. This was a function of topographic constriction and bathymetric shallowing, and occurred despite continued climatic forcing. In the neighbouring Ingia Fjord this did not occur. Following this period of stability, ice within Rink–Karrat Fjord retreated, reaching the present ice margin or beyond after 5 ka. The presence of a major ice stream within a mid-fjord setting, during the mid-Holocene and the Holocene Thermal Maximum (∼11–5 ka) is in direct contrast to records of other ice streams throughout West Greenland, which suggest ice had retreated beyond its present margin by 9–7 ka. This demonstrates the potential importance of topographic control on calving margin stability, and its ability to override climatic forcing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The boundary conditions that govern ice sheet dynamics can change significantly with the development of marine margins. This paper uses the glacial landscape in western Scotland to reconstruct changes in the British–Irish Ice Sheet that accompanied the growth and decay of a marine sector over the Malin Shelf. Ice advanced from a restricted mountain ice sheet with tidewater margins after ∼35 ka BP, and reached the continental shelf in ∼7 ka (average rate of ∼30 m a−1). Early ice flow had been directed through north-south, geologically controlled, over-deepened fjords that were carved during previous ‘restricted’ glaciations. This flow regime was abandoned with development of the Malin Shelf ice sheet sector; ice flow direction switched by ∼90° and was drawn westwards towards the shelf edge. The marine ice sheet phase saw episodes of west-east ice divide migration by up to 60 km over west central Scotland, possibly linked to ice streaming and calving events at the ice sheet margin. However, permanent and stationary ice divides and zones of cold-based ice, associated with subglacial topographic highs, also characterised the marine glacial stage over western Scotland. The North Channel ice divide remained a constant, though migratory feature while the BIIS occupied the Malin Shelf; it finally collapsed at the end of the Killard Point Stadial when the Irish Ice Sheet began to rapidly decay ∼16.5 ka BP. This permitted the Scottish Ice Sheet to temporarily advance over north-east Ireland (previously identified as the East Antrim Coastal Readvance) before it too retreated, at rates in the order of 102 m a−1. Although the imprint of extensive shelf-edge ice sheet glaciation exists in the coastal landscape of western Scotland, the dominant landscape features relate to a restricted, marine-proximal mountain ice sheet with markedly different flow configurations. Similar first-order geomorphological features, relating to ‘restricted’ glacial conditions, are likely to be preserved in subglacial highlands under interior parts of modern ice sheets. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The sliding of an ice mass over its bed represents one of the main mechanisms for the forward motion of glaciers and ice sheets, facilitated by the periodic introduction of meltwater along the ice-bed interface or regelation of the overriding ice. In the geological record, however, physical evidence of this process having occurred beneath former ice masses is apparently limited. This paper presents the results of a detailed micromorphological study of thinly stratified subglacial tills exposed at two sites: (i) Galmis in Switzerland and (ii) Plumpe Farm, near Gretna in SW Scotland. The stratification within these tills comprises alternating layers of massive to weakly foliated diamicton and variably deformed (folded, faulted) laminated silt and clay. Microtextural and microstructural evidence is interpreted in terms of repeated phases of basal sliding as the ice overrode a soft-sediment bed. Elevated meltwater contents/pressures encountered immediately prior to, and during basal sliding promoted localised liquefaction within the bed. Decoupling of the ice mass from its bed enabled the injection of the liquefied diamicton along the ice-bed interface and/or into the laminated sediments immediately adjacent to this boundary. The laminated silts and clays record the settling out of fines (clay, silt) from meltwater trapped along the ice-bed interface after an individual phase of basal sliding has ceased. Injection of till into the locally water saturated silts and clays resulted in partial liquefaction and incomplete mixing of these fine-grained sediments with the diamicton. Density contrasts between the two liquefied sediments led to the development of a complex ‘vinaigrette-like’ texture comprising rounded to irregular till pebbles within a matrix of variably homogenised silty clay. Recoupling of the ice with its bed led to localised folding and thrusting within the laminated silts and clays, hydrofracturing and injection of a network of sand-filled veins, and the imposition of a variably developed clast microfabric in the diamicton layers. Analysis of the clast microfabrics indicates that the intensity of these fabrics is highly variable reflecting the variation in the intensity of deformation imposed by the overriding ice. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper reviews recent progress in the use of linear dunes as ‘geoproxies’ of late Quaternary environmental change, summarises the challenges facing their use, and explores some potential solutions to these challenges. Large areas of the swathes of linear dunes which occupy the continental interior of southern Africa, Australia, and parts of central Asia and southern America currently have limited or negligible aeolian activity. They have been recognised as offering potential information about past environments for more than a century, but only with the widespread application of luminescence dating during the 1990s did they realistically start to offer the prospect of being an extensive, dateable proxy of late Quaternary palaeoenvironments and, possibly, palaeoclimates. Dating aeolian dune sands with luminescence methods is generally (although not always) relatively straightforward. Over the past twenty years, a large number (>1000) of luminescence ages have been added to the global dataset, yet there has also been significant criticism of some of the rationale underpinning much of the interpretation of the records derived. At the landscape scale, developments of arguably equal importance have come from improved geomorphological understanding based on the wider availability of remotely-sensed data and the paradigm of dunefield evolution as a self-organising complex system. Current challenges are identified in three key regions: incomplete understanding of how the process geomorphology of linear dunes affect the accumulation and preservation of sediment, a lack of clarity regarding the temporal and spatial scale of the response in a dynamic environmental setting and uncertainty surrounding the drivers of changing rates of net accumulation. Solutions to these challenges lie within diverse research methodologies. Certainly, further field study is required, with improvement required in understanding system responses to changing environmental stimuli at scales from sedimentological to landscape. In parallel, the full implications of complex systems approaches to aeolian geomorphology for linear dunes lag behind the adoption of the concept to some other dune forms (e.g. barchans); the relationship between observed dune complexity and age from field data complicates previous suggestions that dune patterning may be purely a function of development time. Parallel to this lies the need to improve interpretation of the results of dune geochronological studies; a suggestion is offered which aims to test the statistical significance of dune accumulation time-series by comparison with a modelled system with unchanging external forcing. Despite the initial promise of linear dune records as a revolutionary source of palaeoenvironmental information in drylands, the outcomes to date have been coarse, although still valuable, in resolution. Perhaps the most valuable realization has been that geomorphological understanding of these widespread landforms is incomplete. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Northern peatlands are among the most carbon-rich ecosystems on Earth, but many unanswered questions remain regarding linkages between their long-term developmental processes and climatic variability. In this paper, we present a detailed paleoecological reconstruction of the developmental history of a kettle peatland in northern Wisconsin, USA (Fallison Bog) based on 21 coring locations and temporally constrained by 69 radiocarbon dates. This record of within-basin developmental history is compared to a regional dataset containing estimated ages of peatland establishment for 75 core samples collected from 37 depressional peatlands throughout the Great Lakes Region. Finally, our data are used to develop a spatially explicit model of whole-system carbon accumulation in Fallison Bog, which distinguishes between carbon pools stored in limnic sediments and peat deposits. Results indicate that peatland development in Fallison Bog was episodic and spatially complex. Peatland development was related to the morphology of the underlying basin and characterized by pulses of both terrestrialization and paludification. Major episodes of terrestrialization centered on 4980 and 3180 years before A.D. 1850 (cal yr BP), with less extensive episodes occurring around 3840, 1060, 670, and 410 cal yr BP. Extensive peatland area developed by paludification of shallow portions of the basin around 2040 cal yr BP. The timing of peatland development within Fallison Bog was correlated with the timing of peatland development in other depressional peatlands across the Great Lakes Region (r = 0.70), suggesting a common climatic driver. Comparison of peatland development in Fallison Bog and independent paleoclimate records suggested that both millennial-scale and sub-centennial-scale variability in moisture balance influenced spatiotemporal patterns of peatland development. Model results indicated that Fallison Bog accumulated ∼6655 t of carbon during the Holocene, with 66% of this total stored in peat deposits that have accumulated in only the last ∼5000 years. Collectively, model results and the strong correlation between the timing of within-basin and regional pulses of peatland establishment imply that depressional peatlands likely experienced climate-sensitive and episodic changes in carbon accumulation rates during the Holocene, and similar dynamics could be expected in response to ongoing and future climatic change. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In recent years the role of extreme events such as tsunamis and storms in shaping coastal evolution and change has been increasingly appreciated. Around the world, tsunami geologists are increasingly recognising the signatures of palaeotsunamis almost everywhere they look and in many cases, base their interpretations on similar evidence for Quaternary tsunamis first identified in Australia. Geological research suggests that the coast of south east Australia and others worldwide may have been impacted by palaeotsunamis many times larger than the catastrophic 2004 Indian Ocean and 2011 Tōhoku events. In Australia, the debate centres on the hypothesis that the coast of south east Australia preserves evidence for repeated, large magnitude Quaternary tsunamis. If independently validated, this hypothesis has profound implications for risk. Despite the potential importance of this hypothesis, no synthesis or comprehensive review of the proposed geological evidence and chronology exists. As a result it is difficult to assess the evidence and to draw conclusions about the nature of the hazard and risk along the coast. This synthesis details the spatial distribution of reported palaeotsunami deposits along the coast of New South Wales, south east Australia and summarises the distribution of different types of sedimentary and erosional evidence. The age range of reported palaeotsunami deposits is identified and mapped before discussing ‘same age’ (chronologically correlated) deposits. These data are then used to draw broad conclusions about the evidence and identify future research questions to aid in the testing of the hypothesis for repeated tsunami inundation. We show that 60 sites are purported to contain evidence of tsunami inundation over 650 km of the south east Australian coast with a spatial concentration south of Sydney. Geomorphic evidence, distinctly different to that used elsewhere in global palaeotsunami studies, is reported at 54 sites, with erosional features described as the most frequent indication of inundation. Proposed tsunami deposits are evident at 44 sites, with the dominant deposit type being imbricated boulder stacks. Radiocarbon dating at 39 of the sites led to a proposition of nine events during the Quaternary, eight of which occurred during the Holocene. Interestingly, 18 sites have no chronological data associated with them. Alternative interpretations are offered at six type field sites purported to contain palaeotsunami evidence. Attention is drawn to the disjunct between historical and geological scales of tsunami inundation in the region in addition to the contrast between the scale of reported palaeotsunamis and the robust evidence of smaller events. A synthesis of research into the nature of the evidence is offered, including critiques of evidence type and mechanisms. A critical review of the chronological data is also presented, in addition to the recalibration and analysis of published radiocarbon data. The paper concludes with an outline of research questions for further work on proposed palaeotsunami sites in Australia as well as a statement about likely risk in south east Australia. It also advocates the need for caution when interpreting evidence for palaeotsunamis elsewhere around the world when those interpretations are based on signatures originally reported in south east Australia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The morpho-stratigraphic subdivision of the surficial glacial drifts of Ireland into ‘Older Drift’ and ‘Younger Drift’ is a long-standing convention in Irish Quaternary studies. Across southern Ireland a broad swath of terrain has traditionally been interpreted as Munsterian (penultimate glaciation) in age and large end moraine complexes bordering this zone of ‘Older Drift’ such as the ‘South Ireland End Moraine’ have long been regarded as marking the limit of the Late Midlandian (last glaciation) ice sheet. Sedimentary sequences exposed along the south coast of Ireland provide a window into the stratigraphy of the ‘Older Drift’ and have been studied for over a century. The present paper supports a fundamental revision of the traditional interpretation of ice sheet limits in southern Ireland and argues for an extensive last Irish Ice Sheet which covered much of the area of the Older Drift at the Last Glacial Maximum. The basis for this revision is threefold. Firstly, nineteen new optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates on the Courtmacsherry Raised Beach and overlying shallow marine sands demonstrate that on the south coast the beach and shallow marine sands formed during marine isotope stages 4–3. Secondly, AMS radiocarbon dates on reworked shells from the ‘Irish Sea Till’, demonstrate that this till and overlying ‘inland’ tills from central and SW Ireland were formed after ∼24calkaBP. Thirdly, new OSL dates of 24–21kaBP from deglacial outwash overlying the Irish Sea Till. Collectively these data are consistent with a last glaciation age for the glacigenic sequence along the south coast of Ireland, thus supporting a fundamental revision of the age of the Older (Munsterian) Drifts of southern Ireland. Most of southern Ireland was glaciated during the LGM and the moraine belts which have traditionally been interpreted as marking the last glacial limit such as the South Ireland End Moraine are reinterpreted here as recessional features formed during ice sheet retreat. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Loess deposits in the Eastern Qinling Mountains (central China) provide a detailed archive for reconstructing the paleoenvironment during early hominin occupation. The study of the loess deposits also provides a unique opportunity to understand Pleistocene atmospheric circulation in this transitional climatic zone. However, the provenance and formation of the loess deposits were not well understood until now. In this paper, we report on new geomorphologic investigations and depositional analyses of the loess deposits. The results suggest that Gobi deserts and drylands in northern and northwestern China were one of the dust sources. These loess deposits show similar geochemical composition as the average upper crust (UCC), and may indicate that they experienced multiple sedimentary processes, with the dust being well mixed before deposition. However, the higher 87Sr/86Sr ratios (between 0.719650 and 0.721043) and extremely low ɛNd(0) values (between −11.98 and −18.97), which are different from the typical loess of the Chinese Loess Plateau, demonstrate that proximal clastic sediments that were apparently derived from the weathered Qinling orogen bedrocks, form the other important source for the loess deposits. The chemical Index of Alteration [CIA = Al2O3/(Al2O3 + CaO* + Na2O + K2O) × 100] and Chemical Proxy of Alteration [CPA = 100 × Al2O3/(Al2O3 + Na2O)], both in molar proportions show that the loess has experienced intense pedogenesis. We conclude that the loess deposit has a mixed provenance. The palaeoclimate in the Eastern Qinling Mountains remained mild in the glacial periods due to the topography and unique geographic locations, providing a suitable place for hominine occupation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The glacial history of the continental shelf northwest of Alexander Island is not well known, due mainly to a lack of targeted marine data on Antarctica''s palaeo-ice sheets in their inter-ice-stream areas. Recently it has been argued that the region was ice-free at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and thus a potential site for glacial refugia. In this paper, multibeam swath bathymetry, sub-bottom profiles and sediment cores are used to map the Alexander Island sector of the Antarctic Peninsula margin, in order to reconstruct the shelf''s palaeoglaciology. Sea-floor bedforms provide evidence that an independent ice cap persisted on Alexander Island through the LGM and deglaciation. We show that this ice cap drained via two major, previously-undescribed tidewater outlets (Rothschild and Charcot Glaciers) sourced from an ice dome centred over the west of the island and near-shore areas. The glaciers grounded along deep, fjord-like cross-shelf troughs to within at least ∼10–20 km of the shelf edge, and probably reached the shelf break. Only one small outer-shelf zone appears to have remained free of ice throughout an otherwise extensive LGM. During retreat, grounding-line geomorphology indicates periodic stabilisation of Charcot Glacier on the mid-shelf after 13,500 cal yrs BP, while Rothschild Glacier retreated across its mid-shelf by 14,450 cal yrs BP. The timing of these events is in phase with retreat in nearby Marguerite Trough, and we take this as evidence of a common history and forcing with the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet. The fine details of ice flow documented by our new reconstruction highlight the importance of capturing complex ice flow patterns in models (e.g. in inter-stream areas), for understanding how region-specific parts of Antarctica may change in the future. Moreover, the reconstruction shows that glacial refugia, if present, cannot have been extensive on the Alexander Island shelf at the LGM as indicated by previous biological studies; instead, we argue that any ice-free refugia were probably restricted to isolated outer-shelf pockets, that opened, closed, or were maintained through diachronous ice-sheet advance and retreat. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Three lake basins were cored in the Kalevala area, northwestern Russia in order to determine the Weichselian deglaciation history of the eastern flank of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet and to date the Kalevala and Pääjärvi end moraines adjacent to these basins. Two of the lake basins, Ala-Kuittijärvi and Keski-Kuittijärvi, are situated on the proximal side of the Kalevala end moraine while the third lake basin, Tuoppajärvi, is located on the distal side of the Pääjärvi end moraine. One site from each lake basin was chosen for sedimentological and chronological study. The chronology presented in this paper is based on palaeomagnetic measurements and counting of varved clays and the results are compared to the Finnish palaeomagnetic master curve. The results indicate that the deglaciation sediments in the Ala-Kuittijärvi and Keski-Kuittijärvi lakes were deposited mainly by extra-marginal rivers, while those in Tuoppajärvi were deposited in an ice-contact setting. After the glacial meltwater input ceased, typical large lake gyttja clay/clay gyttja sediment accumulated in all three basins. The palaeomagnetic record obtained from the Ala-Kuittijärvi sediment sequence extends back to 10,900 cal. BP, while that of Keski-Kuittijärvi and Tuoppajärvi dates back to 9800 cal. BP. The palaeomagnetic record, together with 450 counted varves in Ala-Kuittijärvi, indicates that the basin was deglaciated at around 11,350 ± 300 cal. BP. Based on palaeomagnetic results, geomorphological considerations and ice retreat rates, it is estimated that the Kalevala end moraine was formed prior to 11,450 ± 350 cal. BP, while the Pääjärvi end moraine, west of Tuoppajärvi, was formed at prior to 11,000 ± 250 cal. BP. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Large areas of Montenegro were glaciated during the Pleistocene. This paper presents evidence from the massifs of central Montenegro, including Durmitor and Sinjajevina, Moračke Planine, Maganik, Prekornica and Vojnik. Glacial deposits have been subdivided on the basis of morphostratigraphy and soil weathering and 31 U-series ages from cemented tills provided a geochronological framework. The largest glaciation occurred before 350 ka when a series of conjoined ice caps over the massifs of central Montenegro covered a total area of nearly 1500 km2. These formed during MIS 12 and correspond with the largest Skamnellian Stage glaciations in Greece to the south. Later Middle Pleistocene glaciations occurred during the penultimate glacial cycle correlating with the Vlasian Stage in Greece (MIS 6) when ice caps covered an area of 720 km2 over central Montenegro. There is also geochronological evidence of glacial deposits dating from the interval between MIS 12 and MIS 6, before the interglacial complex of MIS 7. This glaciation appears to have been very similar in extent to that which occurred during MIS 6. The last glacial cycle in central Montenegro was characterised by valley and cirque glaciers covering a total area of 49 km2. It is very likely that glaciers have been present in the mountains of central Montenegro during every glacial cycle since a small glacier still survives today. The smaller glaciers of the last glacial cycle are likely to have been associated with summer temperatures that were warmer than those of earlier cold stages. The striking contrast in the extent and thickness of ice cover during the cold stages of the Pleistocene has an important bearing on the geomorphological and biological evolution of the Balkans. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Precisely how Upper Palaeolithic human ecology was shaped by changing climate during the Pleniglacial remains a matter of debate, for while this generally cold period is now understood to include complex and often rapid flux in climate, there are still considerable difficulties in resolving climatic variations at particular times and places — derived from various lines of proxy evidence — with the high-resolution proxy record of temperature changes from oxygen isotope analysis of the Greenland ice-cores. In this paper we apply the methodology of large-scale flotation to newly excavated contexts from the Upper Palaeolithic (Gravettian) site of Dolní Vĕstonice II, Czech Republic, to explore the potential of charcoal — as a natural archive of environmental information — to offer information on environmental change towards the end of the middle pleniglacial during Oxygen Isotope Stage 3, between c. 32,500 and 31,200 Cal yr BP. The results of an analysis of ring widths and other anatomical features — interpreted alongside micromorphological data — indicate that this charcoal may capture a higher-resolution record of the changing climatic conditions during which humans were first expanding into these hitherto marginal ecologies and, consequently, shed new light upon the complexity of the lifeways that enabled them to do so. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The complex glacial geomorphology and stratigraphy of the Solway Lowlands (Cumbria, UK) reflects dynamic ice flow during the Main Late Devensian Glaciation, with numerous ice-flow shifts, and re-advances now recognised. The final incursion of Scottish ice into the region (Scottish Re-advance) during a late stage of deglaciation has provoked widespread debate and even scepticism arising from ill-defined marginal limits, and a paucity of landforms, sediments and dates. In an attempt to resolve some of these issues this paper has applied both geomorphological and stratigraphic techniques to critically review evidence pertaining to the Scottish Re-advance. A major deltaic landform-sediment assemblage at Holme St. Cuthbert; a thin, patchy till sheet; and eskers at Thursby and Sowerby Wood verify that Scottish ice re-advanced into the Solway Lowlands at a late stage of deglaciation. The thin, patchy till sheet associated with the re-advance is indicative of a short-lived pulse, with ice thought to have flowed rapidly across water-saturated sediment and into proglacial lakes dammed up against higher ground to the east. The Holme St. Cuthbert delta, which evolved from a subaqueous outwash fan marks a major still-stand and development of a large ice-contact lake in the vicinity of Wigton. The extent of the glaciation is difficult to elucidate, with the till sheet disparately exposed as far east as Lannercost although identification of the Blackhall Wood Re-advance Till member probably limits its SE extent to just south of Carlisle. Coeval re-advance of Lake District ice is possible given that a final stage lobate movement of ice out of the Vale of Eden and into the Solway Lowlands is now recognised, however there is no direct stratigraphic correlation or dating control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The ice sheet that once covered Ireland has a long history of investigation. Much prior work focussed on localised evidence-based reconstructions and ice-marginal dynamics and chronologies, with less attention paid to an ice sheet wide view of the first order properties of the ice sheet: centres of mass, ice divide structure, ice flow geometry and behaviour and changes thereof. In this paper we focus on the latter aspect and use our new, countrywide glacial geomorphological mapping of the Irish landscape (>39 000 landforms), and our analysis of the palaeo-glaciological significance of observed landform assemblages (article Part 1), to build an ice sheet reconstruction yielding these fundamental ice sheet properties. We present a seven stage model of ice sheet evolution, from initiation to demise, in the form of palaeo-geographic maps. An early incursion of ice from Scotland likely coalesced with local ice caps and spread in a south-westerly direction 200km across Ireland. A semi-independent Irish Ice Sheet was then established during ice sheet growth, with a branching ice divide structure whose main axis migrated up to 140km from the west coast towards the east. Ice stream systems converging on Donegal Bay in the west and funnelling through the North Channel and Irish Sea Basin in the east emerge as major flow components of the maximum stages of glaciation. Ice cover is reconstructed as extending to the continental shelf break. The Irish Ice Sheet became autonomous (i.e. separate from the British Ice Sheet) during deglaciation and fragmented into multiple ice masses, each decaying towards the west. Final sites of demise were likely over the mountains of Donegal, Leitrim and Connemara. Patterns of growth and decay of the ice sheet are shown to be radically different: asynchronous and asymmetric in both spatial and temporal domains. We implicate collapse of the ice stream system in the North Channel – Irish Sea Basin in driving such asymmetry, since rapid collapse would sever the ties between the British and Irish Ice Sheets and drive flow configuration changes in response. Enhanced calving and flow acceleration in response to rising relative sea level is speculated to have undermined the integrity of the ice stream system, precipitating its collapse and driving the reconstructed pattern of ice sheet evolution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Green Lake Landslide is an ancient giant rock slide in gneiss and granodiorite located in the deeply glaciated Fiordland region of New Zealand. The landslide covers an area of 45km2 and has a volume of about 27km3. It is believed to be New Zealand''s largest landslide, and possibly the largest landslide of its type on Earth. It is one of 39 known very large (106–107 m3) and giant (≥108 m3) postglacial landslides in Fiordland discussed in the paper. Green Lake Landslide resulted in the collapse of a 9km segment of the southern Hunter Mountains. Slide debris moved up to 2.5km laterally and 700m vertically, and formed a landslide dam about 800m high, impounding a lake about 11km long that was eventually infilled with sediments. Geomorphic evidence supported by radiocarbon dating indicates that Green Lake Landslide probably occurred 12 000–13 000years ago, near the end of the last (Otira) glaciation. The landslide is described, and its geomorphic significance, age, failure mechanism, cause, and relevance in the region are discussed, in relation to other large landslides and recent earthquake-induced landslides in Fiordland. The slope failure occurred on a low-angle fault zone undercut by glacial erosion, and was probably triggered by strong shaking (MM IX–X) associated with a large (≥ M 7.5–8) earthquake, on the Alpine Fault c. 80km to the northwest. Geology was a major factor that controlled the style and size of Green Lake landslide, and in that respect it is significantly different from most other gigantic landslides. Future large earthquakes on the Alpine Fault in Fiordland are likely to trigger more very large and giant landslides across the region, causing ground damage and devastation on a scale that has not occurred during the last 160years, with potentially disastrous effects on towns, tourist centres, roads, and infrastructure. The probability of such an event occurring within the next 50 years may be as high as 45%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper describes recent exceptional slope failures in high-mountain, glacial environments: the 2002 Kolka–Karmadon rock–ice avalanche in the Caucasus, a series of ice–rock avalanches on Iliamna Volcano, Alaska, the 2005 Mt. Steller rock–ice avalanche in Alaska, and ice and rock avalanches at Monte Rosa, Italy in 2005 and 2007. Deposit volumes range from 106 to 108 m3 and include rock, ice and snow. Here we focus on thermal aspects of these failures reflecting the involvement of glacier ice and permafrost at all sites, suggesting that thermal perturbations likely contributed to the slope failures. We use surface and troposphere air temperatures, near-surface rock temperatures, satellite thermal data, and recent 2D and 3D thermal modeling studies to document thermal conditions at the landslide sites. We distinguish between thermal perturbations of volcanic-geothermal and climatic origin, and thermal perturbations related to glacier–permafrost interaction. The data and analysis support the view that recent, current and future climatic change increases the likelihood of large slope failures in steep glacierized and permafrost terrain. However, some important aspects of these settings such as the geology and tectonic environment remain poorly understood, making the identification of future sites of large slope instabilities difficult. In view of the potentially large natural disasters that can be caused by such slope failures, improved data and understanding are needed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The 9.5km2 Illgraben catchment, located in the Rhône valley in the Central Alps of Switzerland, is one of the most active debris flow torrents in the Alps. In this paper we present sediment yield data collected in 2006 for segments where hillslopes and channels form a fully connected network and contrast these with sediment yields measured for disconnected hillslopes. The data reveal that sediment yields are 1–2 orders of magnitude larger in segments where hillslopes are connected with the channel network than on disconnected hillslopes. Support for this conclusion is provided by observations made on 1959, 1999 and 2004 aerial photographs that the vegetation cover in the disconnected segments is still intact, whereas denudation rates of several centimeters per year in the connected segments have inhibited the establishment of a stable vegetation cover. Furthermore, sediment supplied from hillslopes during the past 40 years has temporarily accumulated along the Illgraben channel, indicating that the channel aggraded over this period and has not yet recovered. An implication of this observation is that initiation of debris flows in the Illgraben catchment is limited more by the availability of intense rainfall than sediment. In contrast, on disconnected hillslopes, sediment flux does not appear to be driven by precipitation. The petrographic composition of the Illgraben fan deposits indicates two distinct sediment sources, one related to rockfall and the other to landslides and debris flows. The presence of clasts from both sources implies multiple processes of erosion, deposition, mixing and re-entrainment in the catchment before the material is exported to the Illgraben fan and to the Rhône River. In addition, delivery of large amounts of coarse-grained sediment to the Rhône causes a modification of the flow pattern from meandering or anastomosing upstream to braided downstream. Hence, the direct connectivity between hillslope and channelized processes in the Illgraben catchment causes not only rapid topographic modifications in the catchment, but also morphologic adjustment in the Rhône valley downstream. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents the sediment, landform and dynamic context of four avalanche-fed valley glaciers (Khumbu, Imja, Lhotse and Chukhung) in the Mount Everest (Sagarmatha) region of Nepal. All four glaciers have a mantle of debris dominated by sandy boulder-gravel that suppresses melting to an increasing degree towards the snout, leading to a progressive reduction in the overall slope of their longitudinal profile. Prominent lateral–terminal moraine complexes, also comprising sandy boulder-gravel, enclose the glaciers. These terminal moraines originally grew by accretion of multiple sedimentary facies of basal glacial and supraglacial origin, probably by folding and thrusting when the glaciers were more dynamic during the Little Ice Age. The four glaciers are in various stages of recession, and demonstrate a range of scenarios from down-wasting of the glacier tongue, through moraine-dammed lake development, to post-moraine-dam breaching. Khumbu Glacier is at the earliest stage of supraglacial pond formation and shows no sign yet of developing a major lake, although one is likely to develop behind its >250m high composite terminal moraine. Imja Glacier terminates in a substantial body of water behind a partially ice-cored moraine dam (as determined from geophysical surveys), but morphologically appears unlikely to be an immediate threat. Chukhung Glacier already has a breached moraine and a connected debris fan, and therefore no longer poses a threat. Lhotse Glacier has an inclined, free-draining tongue that precludes hazardous lake development. From the data assembled, a conceptual model, applicable to other Himalayan glaciers, is proposed to explain the development of large, lateral-terminal moraine complexes and associated potentially hazardous moraine dams. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The rockshelter of Benzú has a Middle–Upper Pleistocene stratigraphic sequence with ten levels, seven with evidence of human occupation. Speleothems have been dated by U/Th and the sedimentary levels by OSL and TL, showing that the sequence extends from 250ka to 70ka. In this paper, we summarise the results of geomorphology, chronostratigraphy and excavation, and provide preliminary results on the pollen, faunal and lithic remains. The location of the site on the North African coast of the Strait of Gibraltar offers the potential to throw light on contacts and relationships between prehistoric communities in North Africa and the South Iberian Peninsula, for whom the Strait may have served as a bridge rather than a barrier. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents new mapping of the glacial geomorphology of southern South America between latitudes 38°S and 56°S, approximately the area covered by the former Patagonian Ice Sheets. Glacial geomorphological features, including glacial lineations, moraines, meltwater channels, trimlines, sandur and cirques, were mapped from remotely sensed images (Landsat 7 ETM+, pan-sharpened Landsat 7 and ASTER). The landform record indicates that the Patagonian Ice Sheets consisted of 66 main outlet glaciers, together with numerous local cirque glaciers and independent ice domes in the surrounding mountains. In the northern part of the mapped area, in the Chilean Lake District (38–42°S), large piedmont glaciers developed on the western side of the Andes and the maximum positions of these outlet glaciers are, in general, marked by arcuate terminal moraines. To the east of the Andes between 38°S and 42°S, outlet glaciers were more restricted in extent and formed “alpine-style” valley glaciers. Along the eastern flank of the Andes south of ∼45°S a series of large fast-flowing outlet glaciers drained the ice sheet. The location of these outlet glaciers was topographically controlled and there was limited scope for interactions between individual lobes. West of the Andes at this latitude, there is geomorphological evidence for an independent ice cap close to sea level on the Taitao Peninsula. The age of this ice cap is unclear but it may represent evidence of glacier growth during the Antarctic Cold Reversal and/or Younger Dryas Chronozone. Maximum glacier positions are difficult to determine along much of the western side of the Andes south of 42°S because of the limited land there, and it is assumed that most of these glaciers had marine termini. In the south-east of the mapped area, in the Fuegan Andes (Cordillera Darwin), the landform record provides evidence of ice-sheet initiation. By adding published dates for glacier advances from the literature we present maps of pre-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) glacier extent, LGM extent and the positions of other large mapped moraines younger than LGM in age. A number of large moraines occur within the known LGM limits. The age of these moraines is unknown but, since many of them lie well outside the established maximum Neoglacial positions, the possibility that they reflect a return to glacial climates during the Younger Dryas Chronozone or Antarctic Cold Reversal cannot be discounted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Data on fluvial sequences from around the world, collected as part of IGCP 449, has allowed comparison between such records with the purpose of searching for meaningful patterns. A key finding has been that fluvial incision rates, as measured by the vertical separations of well-dated terrace deposits one from another, and from the modern valley floor (which can be used as a proxy for uplift), are often very similar in different parts of the world but vary significantly between systems on different types of crust. The collection that this paper introduces, coupled with previous IGCP 449 publications cited, confirms that the aim of a worldwide compilation of fluvial archives has been achieved, with a number of syntheses already published. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Paraglacial geomorphology is the study of earth-surface processes, sediments, landforms, landsystems and landscapes that are directly conditioned by former glaciation and deglaciation. The withdrawal of glacier ice exposes landscapes that are in an unstable or metastable state, and consequently liable to modification, erosion and sediment release at rates greatly exceeding background denudation rates. This paper (1) reviews research on paraglacial processes, landforms and landscape change in a range of geomorphological settings; (2) explores the importance of paraglacial landscape modification and sediment recycling as a component of alternating glacial/nonglacial landscape evolution; (3) assesses the nature and significance of paraglacial facies in Quaternary stratigraphic sequences; and (4) develops a general model of the sequence of paraglacial landscape modification and the changing nature of paraglacial landsystems.Six paraglacial landsystems are identified: rock slopes, drift-mantled slopes, glacier forelands, and alluvial, lacustrine and coastal systems. Each contains a wide range of paraglacial landforms and sediment facies. Collectively these landforms and sediments (e.g. talus accumulations, debris cones, alluvial fans, valley fills, deltas and coastal barrier structures) can be conceptualised as storage components of an interrupted sediment cascade with four primary sources (rockwalls, drift-mantled slopes, valley-floor glacigenic deposits and coastal glacigenic deposits) and four terminal sediment sinks (alluvial valley-fill deposits, lacustrine deposits, coastal/nearshore deposits and shelf/offshore deposits). Paraglacial sediment stores and sinks may form major sources of readily erodible sediment during the early stages of glacial cycles, leading to high rates of sediment transport during periods of glacier or ice-sheet expansion. Probably because of the limited preservation potential of paraglacial sediments that were subsequently over-run by glacier ice, identification of paraglacial facies in both terrestrial and marine settings has been almost exclusively limited to sequences that post-date the Last Glacial Maximum.The unifying concept of paraglacial geomorphology is that of glacially conditioned sediment availability. Relaxation of landscape elements to nonglacial conditions operates over timescales of 101–>104 years, and is conditioned by both process and spatial scale. Rate of sediment reworking can be described by an exhaustion model. In the case of primary reworking of glacigenic sediment, the rate of reworking declines approximately exponentially through time, though extrinsic perturbation may rejuvenate paraglacial sediment flux long after termination of the initial period of paraglacial adjustment. Landscape-scale (particularly alluvial and coastal) systems may exhibit intrinsically complex responses due to reworking of secondary paraglacial sediment stores. The long relaxation time of such systems implies that many areas deglaciated in the Late Pleistocene or Early Holocene have still not fully adjusted (in terms of sediment supply) to nonglacial conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Kola Peninsula and Russian Lapland (Murmansk Oblast, northwest Arctic Russia) represents a major sector of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet (FIS) where empirical geomorphological, sedimentological, and chronological data are lacking and thus, where the pattern, style, and timing of glaciation is not well established. In this study, we present a critical review of published empirical data and interpretations of Late Weichselian (c. 40–10 ka) glaciation for the region. The review includes, for the first time, information published in Russian-language journal articles (n = 37), and is accompanied by a new Geographic Information System (GIS) numerical age database (spanning 472.3–6.2 ka) that collates known published numerical dates associated with the advance and retreat of the FIS in the study area. Our review suggests that an ice mass existed over the Kola Peninsula and Russian Lapland during the Early-Middle Weichselian (c. 115–40 ka), and likely retreated during the Ålesund interstadial (c. 38–34 ka). During the Late Weichselian, it is likely that the FIS advanced eastwards across Russian Lapland and the Kola Peninsula, establishing the White Sea Ice Stream before the local-Last Glacial Maximum (c. 19–15 ka). Through an evaluation of the existing Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition (c. 20–10 ka) glaciation models for the region, we propose that the Kola Peninsula and Russian Lapland was deglaciated by the FIS, rather than the Ponoy Ice Cap or the Kara Sea Ice Sheet. In collating, discussing, and critically evaluating empirical data and interpretations, this paper provides a valuable resource to inform FIS dynamics at both a regional- and ice sheet-scale, and offers a framework through which numerical ice sheet models can be constrained. Precise FIS dynamics on the Kola Peninsula and Russian Lapland, including the position of the Younger Dryas ice marginal zone, remain unclear due to low-resolution geomorphological data. In concluding, we recommend that further work is needed in the form of a revised glacial reconstruction using high-resolution, peninsula-wide geomorphological data. • Critical review of geomorphological, sedimentary, and chronometric data. • Fennoscandian Ice Sheet glaciation on the Kola Peninsula and Russian Lapland. • Numerical age database including 66 numerical ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present a high resolution palaeo coastline model for the isolated limestone massif of Tràng An, Ninh Bình province, Vietnam. The archaeological and palaeoecological record here comprise rich archives of human activity set within a landscape that was cyclically transformed between inland and archipelagic states under the influence of past sea level changes. These records have become informative proxies in the study of current sea level rise. Well-preserved notches along the vertical limestone cliffs within the study property reveal several phases of prolonged stable sea levels that likely pertain to the Mid-Holocene marine transgression 8 ka BP to 4 ka BP and allow for detailed coastline reconstructions for parts of the Red River Delta (RRD). The resulting coastline model facilitates a closer look at past human responses to landscape and environmental changes at local and individual site-level, which improves our understanding of past human adaptations to climate-change induced sea level rise. These data also stand to inform current coastal vulnerability assessments and climate change response models. • Mid-Holocene transgression fully submerged Tràng An. • – 4 phases of stable rsl above modern mean sea level. • Insular Tràng An featured open plain with ideal conditions for settlements. • High resolution time-series coastline reconstruction for Tràng An. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the distribution, character and age of blue-ice moraines in Antarctica and asks whether there are implications for the study of former Pleistocene ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere. Blue-ice forms where acceleration of downslope katabatic winds removes snow and causes ice to ablate. Upward ice flow compensates for the surface ablation and in some places brings rock debris to the surface to form a blue-ice moraine. Blue-ice moraines occur where topography focuses katabatic winds, notably outlet glaciers cutting through mountains and in the lee of nunataks and escarpments nearer the coast. Many Antarctic blue-ice moraines have been accumulating for millions of years. The cyclic growth and decay of Pleistocene ice sheets and the dominance of surface ablation near the ice-sheet margins are clearly different, yet there are aspects that apply to Pleistocene ice sheets. Based on Antarctic blue-ice deposits, equivalent deposits associated with former Pleistocene ice sheets are likely to: (1) lie in topographic sediment traps such as in side valleys or embayments next to outlet glaciers, (2) occur in the lee of mountains, (3) display a morphology indicating ice flow into the embayment or towards the mountain front, (4) include a wide range of lithologies derived from the inland ice sheet, yet consist wholly of local debris in places, (5) accumulate a thick deposit perhaps over successive glaciations. Further, (6) the location and intensity of moraine formation will change spatially and vertically in response to changes in the relative elevation of the surrounding mountains and its effect on ice flow. The extent to which these criteria will help in interpreting the behaviour of Pleistocene ice sheets is uncertain. But we use examples from the Greenland, Laurentide and Eurasian ice sheets to suggest that the concept of enhanced ablation by katabatic winds encouraging surface moraine formation helps resolve several puzzles. • Katabatic winds flowing over Antarctic nunataks create ablation hot spots. • Blue-ice moraines collect in such topographic sediment traps. • Similar sediment traps occurred on to Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. • The concept of topographic sediment traps helps interpretation of glacial sedimentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glaciers formed in the highest mountains of Greece during the Late Pleistocene, but the timing of glacier maxima is poorly understood. This paper presents 27 36Cl terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide exposure ages from glacial boulders on Mount Tymphi (2497 m a.s.l., 40oN) in Epirus, northwest Greece. These ages address both a significant geographical gap in Mediterranean glacial chronologies and a temporal gap in the glacial history of this region by targeting the previously undated Late Pleistocene record. Late Pleistocene glaciers were restricted to the cirques and upper valleys of Mount Tymphi. Terminal and lateral moraines between 1700 m and 2050 m a.s.l. mark the extent of Late Pleistocene glaciers on the southern side of Mount Tymphi. Moraines marking the maximum extent of Late Pleistocene glaciation date to 29.0 ± 3.0 ka and 25.7 ± 2.6 ka, taking the oldest ages as most representative of moraine emplacement. Glaciers had retreated to the high cirques by 24.5 ± 2.4 ka during Heinrich Stadial 2. Rock glaciers formed under cold and drier conditions during this period of glacier retreat. This 36Cl dataset complements published U-series ages from secondary calcites in glacial sediments below 1700 m elevation, which demonstrate more extensive Middle Pleistocene glaciations in MIS 6 and MIS 12. A Late Pleistocene glacier maxima on Mount Tymphi at 25.7–29 ka is in good agreement with well-preserved outwash sediments dating to 24–28 ka in the Voidomatis River record downstream and is consistent with the Ioaninna basin pollen record indicating cool and wet conditions, most favourable for glacier growth, at 25–30 ka. • Glaciers formed in the highest mountains of Greece during the Late Pleistocene. • Late Pleistocene glaciers were restricted to the cirques and upper valleys of Mount Tymphi. • These glaciers reached their last maximum extents at 25.7–29 ka during cool and wet conditions. • Glaciers had retreated to the high cirques by 24.5 ± 2.4 ka under cold and drier conditions. • 36Cl TCN dating of glacial activity agrees with the independently-dated record of river behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents the sediment, landform and dynamic context of four avalanche-fed valley glaciers (Khumbu, Imja, Lhotse and Chukhung) in the Mount Everest (Sagarmatha) region of Nepal. All four glaciers have a mantle of debris dominated by sandy boulder-gravel that suppresses melting to an increasing degree towards the snout, leading to a progressive reduction in the overall slope of their longitudinal profile. Prominent lateral–terminal moraine complexes, also comprising sandy bouldergravel, enclose the glaciers. These terminal moraines originally grew by accretion of multiple sedimentary facies of basal glacial and supraglacial origin, probably by folding and thrusting when the glaciers were more dynamic during the Little Ice Age. The four glaciers are in various stages of recession, and demonstrate a range of scenarios from down-wasting of the glacier tongue, through morainedammed lake development, to post-moraine-dam breaching. Khumbu Glacier is at the earliest stage of supraglacial pond formation and shows no sign yet of developing a major lake, although one is likely to develop behind its >250m high composite terminal moraine. Imja Glacier terminates in a substantial body of water behind a partially ice-cored moraine dam (as determined from geophysical surveys), but morphologically appears unlikely to be an immediate threat. Chukhung Glacier already has a breached moraine and a connected debris fan, and therefore no longer poses a threat. Lhotse Glacier has an inclined, free-draining tongue that precludes hazardous lake development. From the data assembled, a conceptual model, applicable to other Himalayan glaciers, is proposed to explain the development of large, lateral-terminal moraine complexes and associated potentially hazardous moraine dams. – 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]